


Minerva

by Gumnut



Series: Kermadec AU [5]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: A Little Lightning, Family, Fluff, Gen, Kermadec AU, Minerva Reefs, day trip
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29896152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gumnut/pseuds/Gumnut
Summary: Virgil is stuck home injured. Grandma decides to cook up a storm so Gordon saves him by throwing him onto his yacht, A Little Lightning, and along with the nursing staff, they go for a day trip out to the Minerva Reefs. Eventually they are joined by the rest of the brothers, and family fluff and hilarity ensues. Kermadec AU.
Series: Kermadec AU [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1743760
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Minerva

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this in November 2020. It is pure fluff and fun. Unfortunately it has yet to be completed. I do intend to, because I adore this fic, but haven't as yet. I hope you enjoy the bit that I have written. Lots of FishTank hilarity :D

Two broken legs.

If there was anything worse than a broken limb, it was more than one, and two broken legs was the worst.

Or two broken arms. He wasn’t sure as he hadn’t managed to break two arms as yet. But two broken legs definitely sucked.

Of course, it was worth it. Saving children was always worth it. But weeks of confinement, of being unable to do anything for himself, was about to send him around the bend, out the window and into the Pacific.

His brothers did their best and both Andre and Cecil, the family nursing staff - yes, they had enough injuries on enough of a regular basis to have nursing staff on their payroll - had been called in on this one to cart him back and forth across the house, see to his necessaries, and pretty much do his bidding.

Which was fine, since he and Andre got on like a house on fire. The man spoke both paint and piano almost as much as Virgil and there had been fun times, despite his infirmities.

Cecil was a Gordon clone and those two got up to much more mischief than was really acceptable for an employee. But since Gordon usually took all the credit, even the time Scott had his eyebrows shaved, they got away with hell.

Besides, Scott’s eyebrows had been partly burnt off already and had looked stupid, so shaving them both off was an improvement that had to be done. How Gordon had managed it, Virgil didn’t have a clue...and also didn’t want to think too hard about it because it gave his rapscallion little brother powers that he really shouldn’t have.

Cecil played it straight and the Tracys put up with it. Because despite Cecil’s idiosyncrasies, the two nurses were very, very good at their jobs.

That and they came as a pair because Andre and Cecil were married.

So, other than expanding Gordon’s power of pranking, things were good. Well, as good as they could be while he had two broken legs.

But there were days.

God, were there days.

Days, so many days, and today was one of them.

Scott had been called out early in the morning and consequently everyone was up. Alan was called next and he and Kayo were out dealing with yet another space freighter collision. Scott was going to kick some space agency ass about updating some space etiquette rules in the near future to stop this stupidity from happening, and considering how much profanity was bouncing down from orbit, both John and Alan would be there to back him up.

So, three brothers were out, leaving Virgil imprisoned with Gordon, Andre, Cecil and Grandma. This combination wouldn’t normally be an issue, but Grandma was cooking up a storm and Virgil was trapped.

Gordon may be a pain at times, but he saw the hazard coming and he was a good brother at heart. So, with some assistance from Andre and Cecil, the Fish deployed his yacht, _A Little Lightning_ , and suddenly the day seemed so much brighter.

Virgil was ensconced in pillows and the best of comfort on the back deck and had the privilege of watching Mateo pass on their starboard side as Gordon guided the yacht out into the open ocean.

Why he seemed to always be injured when aboard this boat, he had no idea, but Gordon was a life saver.

Virgil had no idea where his brother might be taking him and he didn’t really care. He just lay back and enjoyed a beautiful day, the breeze, the many sounds of water and the gentle bounce of the boat.

At some point he dozed off.

It had to be a sign of how much healing his body needed, but somehow he managed to sleep the entire trip, because it was the sudden change in the engine noise that woke him.

Andre was smiling at him in that soft caring way he had about him. Dark hair, blue eyes and a soft smile, the nurse was somewhat reminiscent of his big brother, but without the fire and the drive. The man was quiet and reassuring, exactly what was needed when ill or injured.

“It looks like you needed that.”

Virgil grunted, never a fan of waking up.

But Andre knew this and had exactly what the injured engineer needed - a mug of steaming coffee.

Virgil forced the last few steps to full consciousness, and, pushing himself up, made a grab for the mug.

The mug moved away. “Uh-uh, stretch first.”

Shit.

It was a thing Andre made him do every time he woke. Before coffee, he had to stretch abused muscles that were forced to sleep in awkward positions due to his legs.

Virgil mumbled and grumbled, but did as he was bid. He knew how important the exercises were, but the lure of coffee was just cruel. He vaguely noted the yacht’s engine dropping to a slow cruise and the open ocean having just that touch more sway, rolling the boat in the swell.

“Where are we?”

“Cecil says we’re visiting Minerva.”

“Oh.” Virgil blinked. He’d flown over the Minerva Reefs many, many times. They were a navigation marker not that far from Tracy Island. Though they were far enough away for him to have been asleep for some time. “How long was I out?”

That smile again. “Several hours. Did you good.” The nurse had placed the coffee on a side table and was helping Virgil sit up straight enough to consume the taunting liquid from heaven.

A breathless moment and the mug was in his hands and coffee was pouring down his throat. God, Andre made great coffee. Yet another reason to put up with his husband.

He surfaced at some point and managed a thank you that set the nurse grinning just as a coral reef started to drift past.

Virgil didn’t know much about the Minerva Reefs other than Melissa Fisher on Raoul swore about them…alot.

They were on the very edge of the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary and she had wanted to add them to the exclusion zone for a very long time. But the reefs were owned by Tonga or Fiji, depending on which country you spoke to and the environment continued to suffer for it.

He vaguely remembered Gordon saying something about visiting the reefs in Four on several occasions and Virgil had no doubt that he and Melissa were likely doing some kind of sneaky ecological monitoring or some such. After all, the reefs were rather close to Tracy Island and Gordon rather passionate about such things.

As _A Little Lightning_ cruised between two reef headlands, Virgil surmised they were at the northern of the two atolls.

As Virgil guzzled the last of his coffee, the yacht came to a complete halt in the lee of one of the headlands - if you could call it that, the reef barely made it above the water line. He heard the sea anchor deployed and there was suddenly silence except for the crashing of waves against coral and sand and the breeze.

Virgil closed his eyes and soaked it in.

The empty mug was tugged gently from his hand and he vaguely registered a plate being placed on the table beside him. “Cecil made pie.”

That snapped him out of it. “Pie?” The prankster could cook and he was suddenly assaulted with a delicious aroma.

“Steak and bacon, topped with mashed potato and cheese.” The plate had a generous serving along with salad piled up beside it. Andre was grinning at his expression. “He’s mine, you can’t have him.”

Virgil had to grin. “Well, at least I know one of the reasons why you nabbed him.”

Andre’s grin softened, but it was still a grin. “In the top five.” A hand landed on Virgil’s shoulder. “Eat up, you’ll need it for this afternoon’s workout.”

That deflated him a little.

The nurse noted what must have been in his expression. “Okay, perhaps it can be a brief session today.” A shrug. “After all, an atoll is hardly a swimming pool.”

“Virg trying to con you out of rehab?” Gordon bounced onto the deck, a grin on his face and that look of absolute relaxation the man got whenever he was out on the water.

“‘S not rehab.” So Virgil was pouting and acting like a child. “It’s maintenance.” Of what still worked, until the casts came off and then the hell would really start.

“Don’t let those baby browns lure you from the path of righteousness, Andre.”

“What? Like you attempted last time?” The nurse was grinning at the aquanaut.

That brought Gordon up short.

“I have to say that your eyes are a lighter brown, not quite the same colour, but the manoeuvring is almost identical.”

“What?” It was a two Tracy chorus shot at Andre with two sets of eyebrows, one dark, one light, shooting daggers at the nurse.

Andre just laughed and turned back to Virgil. “You going to eat your pie?”

The nurse’s blue eyes did some manoeuvring of their own and Virgil found himself snatching up the plate and hovering over it to protect his slice of decadence.

Cecil chose that moment to appear. As usual, there was never a laugh far behind him as he was wearing a bright pink chef’s cap canted at an angle. But it was the two plates in his hands that drew the attention of the other two men on deck.

Gordon didn’t hesitate, grabbing his plate and shovelling pie down his throat with barely a thank you. Virgil growled in his direction.

“What? It’s good pie. Cecil knows I appreciate him, don’t you, Cecil?”

But the cook was accepting a gentle kiss from his husband as the man took his plate, his other hand drifting from Cecil’s shoulder, down to the small of his back in a gesture simple but intimate enough for Virgil to turn away to give them privacy.

His eyes landed on Gordon, who’s face had an odd expression as he looked back at Virgil, as if he knew something that Virgil didn’t.

Virgil glared at him.

It, no doubt, had something to do with Kay. He would slap his little bro about the head later.

In the meantime... “So, what are we doing here?”

Gordon’s mouth was still full. “Bit of monitoring, but mostly just hiding from Grandma. Thought you’d like the change of scenery. Can’t recall taking you out here before.” Gordon eyed the atoll stretching into the distance. “Brought the water chair for you.”

Virgil stared at him. “You did?”

Gordon snorted. “Couldn’t let you get out of rehab.” He shoved more pie into the grin on his face.

A frown wasn’t enough to express the mix of emotions he wanted to throw at his brother in that moment. Exasperation was at the top of the list, but there was some definite fondness and the sudden need to mess up his brother’s hair. “Come here, Gordon.”

The aquanaut froze, the remains of his pie halfway to his mouth, eyes ever so suspicious. A blink. “God, no.” He scarfed the last morsel.

“What? Why not?”

“You think I trust you with that look on your face? You may be the softy in this family but I can sense intended noogie from a mile off.”

Blink. Okay, so his brother had a point. Virgil turned to Cecil who was staring at the both of them, chef’s hat even more crooked now the breeze had caught it. “Cecil, noogie Gordon for me, would you, please?”

Cecil blinked, shrugged and then, as Gordon’s eyes widened, leapt for the aquanaut.

Perhaps it would have worked...except for that aquanaut bit.

Gordon hurriedly dropped his plate on the seat beside him and threw himself backwards...over the side of the boat.

There was barely even a splash, the manoeuvre was so smooth.

It stunned even Virgil for a moment, but then... “Oh, well, a dunking does the job well enough.” Switching subjects casually and on purpose. “This is a delicious pie, Cecil. Ever consider moving to Tracy Island on a permanent basis? We need a cook and I certainly could do with the medical backup on a day-to-day basis.” He grinned up at the nurse.

Cecil frowned at him a second but didn’t answer, instead peering over the side of the boat. “Gords, you okay?”

He was suddenly drenched in seawater for his efforts.

“Why you, shit. I’m gonna kick your ass.” And before either Virgil or Andre could do or say anything, Cecil jumped over the edge and disappeared with a splash.

His abandoned chef’s hat fluttered to the deck.

Virgil blinked. “He can swim, can’t he?”

“First seven years of his practice was with the Olympics swim team. You know that.”

Yeah, he did. That was how the Tracys met the pair.

The yells from beyond the edge of the boat had Virgil wanting to climb to his feet and investigate, but, of course, he couldn’t.

“They’re fine, Virgil.” Andre’s voice was soft and his eyes knowing.

A self-conscious half-smile. “I know.” He tilted his head. “Habit.”

Andre didn’t comment, but the curve of his lips was small and too damned understanding.

Virgil stubbornly focussed on eating the remains of his delicious pie.

The nurse sat on the end of the lounge beside him and did the same, his presence quietly reassuring.

For a short time, there was only waves and the occasional splash from below usually followed by one hell of a holler from a brother or a friend. It was oddly relaxing.

Belly full, Virgil found himself drifting yet again. It was both pleasant and frustrating.

“Don’t fight it. You need it.” Andre’s voice was ever so melodious and soft.

Virgil let his eyes close and slipped into the edges of slumber.

Only to be woken suddenly by a face full of seawater.

A splutter and he was wiping it from his eyes. He opened his mouth to yell at someone, anyone, but before he could say anything, everything was being said by Andre.

“Oi, get your asses up here! You just drenched our sleeping patient, you idiots. Move or I’ll drag you both up by your ears.”

Virgil’s anger was halted in its tracks. An angry Andre was a rare and scary thing.

The nurse turned back to Virgil. “Are you okay?” Andre offered him a towel and Virgil took it gratefully. The nurse was still frowning. “Sorry about that.”

A blink. “You’re apologising for my brother?”

Andre shrugged. “You need your rest.” And he began fussing at now-wet pillows, removing sodden material. “Need any necessaries attended to?”

Of course, the moment the nurse mentioned it, he did. He replied with a groan and Andre bit back a smile. Which, in turn, earned him a frown.

The next few moments were spent manhandling Virgil into a small hoverchair and in the direction of the boat’s ‘head’.

God, Virgil hated having to deal with his disability.

By the time they made it back, both pranksters were out of the water, drying themselves and muttering appropriate apologies. Though Gordon did manage to smirk at least once at Virgil...because he was Gordon.

Virgil arched an eyebrow and received the usual innocent puppy dog look.

Hmm.

Gordon grinned and clapped his hands together. “So, what shall we do next? A little Minerva 101? A walk on the reef? Or a swim?” Those hands were rubbed together eagerly.

“You’ve just eaten, Gordon.”

“So?”

Andre stood up. “It is my recommendation that we wait before attempting swimming.”

“Aw, Annie.”

The glare Andre shot his husband almost melted the stern of the boat.

Cecil grinned and winked at his husband.

Virgil bit his tongue. “You think you can lug me onto that reef?” In the distance, the open ocean crashed against the outer reef rim. It was hard to see if there was even any dry land from this distance.

Gordon’s grin turned fond. “Wouldn’t go without you, bro. Told you, I brought the water chair.”

Virgil felt the simple emotion behind that statement and his heart warmed. The water chair was something he himself had put together for Gordon all those years ago after the hydrofoil accident. His brother hadn’t been able to swim and the hoverchair could not operate under or over water. So, borrowing a little Thunderbird technology, Virgil had built one that could. With some feedback and suggestions from its over-the-moon recipient, Virgil had tweaked the design to the point that it could literally operate as a diver assist with minimal effect on its immediate environment while still enabling the operator to ‘walk on water’.

Tracy Industries now produced a trimmed down economical version for world-wide distribution. Gordon was the poster boy for the program and loved seeing people experience water in ways that had been denied them in the past.

But the original, the prototype, was kept on Tracy Island with Gordon. Virgil serviced it every couple of years and it had even been used a few times since.

But never by Virgil.

After stripping into their own water wear, it took some manoeuvring and both nurses to get into Virgil into some wet gear. It was awkward and frustrating, but both Andre and Cecil were gentle and understanding. Gordon stood ready to assist, his eyes warm, his hand briefly brushing Virgil’s hair.

Virgil was grateful, but hated every second.

The casts on his legs were specifically printed for him, a high-tech honeycomb of support, providing strength without the weight and bulk of traditional plaster. And they were water friendly, allowing both air flow and ultimately water flow around his injured limbs.

It took all three men to get Virgil safely into the inflatable.

“Virg, you’ve been stealing far too many of Scott’s apple pies.”

“Speak for yourself.” Virgil grit his teeth as they lowered him into the smaller boat. “Are you sure about this?” So much work to get one person onto a reef.

“Not going without you, bro. Apple pie butt or no.” The determined expression on his little brother’s face put an end to that argument.

The water chair was tucked behind a seat along with snorkelling equipment and a stash of Gordon’s scientific gear and within minutes they were motoring across relatively shallow waters spotted with tropical reef. Virgil peered over the side watching the ever so clear azure pass beneath them. The colours were amazing.

The atoll was obviously the remains of yet another undersea volcano. Living on Tracy Island, which was a volcano itself, gave him some familiarity with the symptoms. But unlike the islands in the Kermadec arc, this volcano hadn’t quite made it above the waterline. It had, however gotten close enough to bring its rim into the sunlit zone of the ocean, enabling coral to gain a foothold and build the reef that had accomplished the task.

As the rim grew closer, the water grew shallower, to the point where Gordon had to slow the inflatable or risk impaling it on submerged living limestone.

The roar of open ocean grew closer. The crash of massive waves that the coral rim was protecting them from. Virgil closed his eyes and soaked in the saltwater air, the breeze and the soundscape.

I was invigorating and relaxing at the same time.

At some point he became aware of eyes on him and he opened his own only to encounter Gordon smiling softly.

Ever so quiet. “That’s more like it.”

Virgil was caught between fondness and embarrassment. But Gordon didn’t say anything else and turned back to steering the boat. Neither Andre or Cecil appeared to have noticed, possibly through courtesy.

Virgil let one hand trail in the cool, clear water and closed his eyes again.

He might have just drifted off right there and then but for the sudden cease of the outboard which had been chugging along relatively slowly in any case. The inflatable drifted as Gordon deployed an anchor and Andre pulled out the water chair, unfolding the leg supports.

“Okay, Virg, let’s get your apple pie butt into the chair.”

Virgil growled at his brother, but Gordon only grinned, climbing behind him and, with Cecil’s help, lifting him enough for Andre to slide the contraption under said butt.

The chair’s gel morphed to his shape, fitting snuggly and supporting his back as Gordon strapped him in. Andre secured the leg braces, connecting them to his casts.

Andre jumped over the side and landed in waist deep water.

Gordon curled his hand around Virgil’s arm. “Okay, bro, let’s see how much fish you have in you.” Another teethy grin as he and Cecil lifted Virgil over the edge of the inflatable and lowered him with Andre’s guidance into the water.

Virgil palmed the seat’s control, which previously he had only used to test the contraption, and micro-thrusters fired up stabilising him as he slipped into the water.

A moment of wobble and the seat settled at waist depth in the water, its quiet hum barely audible over the ripples lapping against the boat.

“Well, it seems those apple pies aren’t going to sink you today.”

“Gordon!”

His brother only laughed as he joined him in the water with a splash…which landed mostly on Virgil.

He wanted to both throttle and hug Gordon to death.

Cecil joined them, smoothly sliding off the inflatable, and all four of them made their way towards the massive reef sticking a good foot above the low tide.

“Watch where you step. Virg has the advantage here. Lots of sharp nasties if you’re not careful.”

Virgil was too busy enjoying the water. The chair automatically adjusted to the surface and he was able to raise or lower it at will. As they neared the inner edge of the reef, he engaged the secondary thruster array and pushed himself above the waterline. The breeze caressed his skin.

The reef ledge was quite a step up. A purple-brown, the limestone sported a continual waterfall of seawater pushed by the swell from the open ocean on the other side.

Gordon slipped in behind him and gave the chair a nudge to get it high enough to engage with the raised surface. Virgil fiddled with the controls until the seat stabilised, hovering just a few inches above the rock and all the rockpools it held.

And there were a lot of rock pools.

Virgil had a sudden flashback to a young Gordon dashing from one rock pool to the next, yelling out his discoveries of this fish, that shell, the occasional ticked off crab…

The incident with the blue-ringed octopus particularly came to mind.

But his little brother had been six then. Theoretically, he was an adult now, one of advanced marine experience.

“Virg! Come and have a look at this!”

Then again...

Sure enough, it was a rock pool and it had some kind of eel trapped in it. Gordon started babbling Latin at him before Virgil had even made it close enough to see the thing clearly.

There was a camera, several shots, some holofilm and lots and lots of incomprehensible marine science-ese.

Virgil had to bite his lip not to grin like a loon.

Cecil appeared to be a disciple of Gordon, his knowledge obviously not up there with the aquanaut’s, but ever so interested and eager to learn. Gordon revelled in the opportunity and Virgil got to sit back and watch his little brother disappear into his element.

Andre hovered about his patient, on duty at all times. “You can relax, Andre. I’m good. Have a bit of fun.”

The quiet man smiled. “I am.” His eyes were on Cecil as his husband darted after Gordon from rock pool to rock pool chattering excitedly with the aquanaut.

Virgil pulled out his phone and took some photos of his brother and his student. “You may never get him back.”

Andre snorted. “I have my ways, don’t worry.”

An arched eyebrow found the nurse smiling again.

With Gordon off in science land, Virgil took the opportunity to do a little exploring of his own. He lowered the chair enough so he could reach down and touch the rock beneath the water. It was sharp, rough and covered in life. The rock pools were truly fascinating. Corals lived in niches, sea urchins huddled in all their spikiness, but it was the giant clams that caught his eye the most.

They had some brilliant colours and they reacted to his presence, closing up abruptly if he startled them. They were quite a distance down and he found himself poking into deeper pools as he scooted along the inner edge of the reef.

They came in a number of shades, but the most brilliant was a vivid blue. His eyes were attracted to the subtle patterns and his fingers itched to record them. His phone filled with shots at the thought of future paintings.

“Thought you might like those.”

Virgil nearly dropped his phone. That, of course, only produced a grin on Gordon’s behalf.

Virgil was hovering over a particularly deep rock pool and at the very bottom, wedged in a crevice, sat a beautiful blue example. It was still mostly open, displaying its variegated mantle. Due to a sudden lack of breeze and the clarity of the water, it was very visible, and Virgil had already taken several holoshots, a composition combining sea urchins, several of the bright red fish and the clam, already in mind.

Behind him Cecil was bouncing on his feet a few metres away gesticulating in excitement as he raved at Andre. Andre had that smile on his face again, the one where love and amusement met and each tried to take dominance.

“I think you’ve started something over there.” Virgil grinned at his brother.

A snort. “Cess has always had an interest. I’m just fanning the flames.”

“Luring him to cook for us forever?”

“Mmmmaybe.”

Virgil chuckled and earned himself a pair of sparkling amber eyes.

“Mel wants a clam count.”

A blink. “What?”

“She’s worried there might be poaching happening here. This place gets a lot of traffic. I had John check for yachts before we came and the fact there are none other than us here is a rarity.”

“People steal the clams?” Virgil stared down at the beautiful creature below.

Gordon sighed. “Is there anything people won’t do? Mel wants a count so we can do a population snapshot. Shouldn’t be too hard. I’ve adapted one of our lifesign locators for their particular form. Not sure it’s going to work, but I was hoping that between us, we could rig it.”

Virgil stared up at his brother. Gordon had planned this, but he had planned it well. Virgil couldn’t resist the challenge, and much like his aquanaut brother, certain stains on humanity really got his back up.

“Sure.”

Gordon’s smile was an honest one. “But no pushing it, Virg, or Scott will have my hide.”

As if summoned by his name, a roar swelled in the distance and out of nowhere Thunderbird One shot into the air space above them, VTOL flaring as she came to a sudden halt.

Their comms spat into life. “Thunderbird One to A Little Lightning, whatcha doing down there?”

-o-o-o-

“Scotty! Bro! How ya doin’?”

Virgil had to smirk at his little brother. Gordon was acting like his hand had been caught in the candy jar.

“Gordon, what are you doing in Minerva?” One lowered just slightly. “Virg? What the hell? Gordon!”

“What?! He needed some fresh air!”

“He has two broken legs!”

“Yeah, but Grandma was cooking up a storm.”

“Oh.”

“Exactly.”

Virgil twisted his lips. “You do know I am a sentient being and can both speak for myself and make decisions on my own.”

“Did you hear something, Scott? There was interference on the line. Sounded like Virgil was claiming he was able to look after himself.”

The snort from the hovering Thunderbird was loud.

“Hey!”

Gordon actually cackled. “Sorry, Virg. Great at looking after everyone else, total shit at looking after yourself.”

The glare he shot his brother should have scalped him.

Gordon only grinned more. “We all have our strengths and weakness, bro.”

“Shut up, Gordon.”

Thunderbird One began lowering as if to come into land.

“Hey, don’t you dare land that tin can on the reef, Scott. Mel will have your hide, right after I kick your butt.”

“Keep your pants on, Fish, I’m well aware how attracted you are to my butt.” Thunderbird One pirouetted midair like the graceful craft she was under his brother’s hands, shifting towards the centre of the lagoon. Her landing struts unfolded from her fuselage.

“He’s not going to...” Virgil’s eyes widened.

But Gordon was grinning. “Oh, yes!”

A crack in the air and pontoons at the end of her landing gear inflated with a snap, One suddenly sprouting what looked like fat ski blades. Her front strut shot out extenders either side for stability and Thunderbird One settled on the calm ocean like the prim and trim bird she was.

“That’s not something you see every day. I thought Scott hated landing on water.”

Gordon snorted. “He does.”

“If Brains asks, it’s practise and equipment testing.” Scott’s voice was smirking on comms. In the distance his brother’s flight chair slid smoothly out of the cockpit to hang above the water. Scott reached beneath the seat and pulled out a package. With a yank of a cord, he inflated his own little lifeboat, chucked it onto the water surface, and lightly stepped onto it. He sat there fiddling for a bit, enough to have Gordon frowning across the water, but then Scott was moving in their direction.

“So, dropping by for a swim? Or just checking up on us?” Gordon’s voice was flippant, but Virgil sensed a touch of concern under it all.

“Does it matter?” As Scott got closer Virgil frowned. The blue of his uniform was smudged with something black.

A flick of the water seat’s controls and Gordon yelped as Virgil flew off the edge of the reef and splashed his younger brother with water as the contraption forced stability in a way it really wasn’t quite designed for. Virgil cursed as the seat hit its maximum speed which was little more than walking pace, a limitation he had put in there himself to stop Gordon from killing himself. But it got him across the water, however slowly, those few moments faster to his eldest brother. As Scott pulled up alongside him, Virgil raked him with his eyes.

His brother was filthy, but there were no obvious injuries. “What the hell happened to you?”

Scott rolled his eyes. “I’m fine. Took a bit of a tumble down a coal mine.”

“A coal mine? Are you okay?” Scott still looked a little off with his pencilled-in eyebrows still growing back. Wasn’t the first time one of them had had to use makeup to hide an injury from the world at large. Scott had more soot on his face than anything else. “Did you wear your helmet?”

His brother’s shoulders slumped with the most put-upon whole-body expression he could manage. “Of course, I did. I’m fine, Virgil. A few bruises and a lot of grime. That’s all.”

Virgil didn’t stop frowning as he grabbed a handle on the inflatable and held himself steady. “Why didn’t you go home and get cleaned up?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Just happened to find a brother with two broken legs sitting on a reef out in the middle of nowhere. What the hell are you doing out here, Virg? You’re supposed to be resting.”

“I am! I’m still sitting on my ass. Andre and Cecil, not to mention, Gords, have me wrapped up in bubblewrap. I’m fine!”

Scott arched a wonky eyebrow at him.

Virgil’s lips twisted and he combed his brother with his eyes for injury one more time before conceding. “Fine. We’re both fine.”

The grin that split Scott’s face was kind of worth it.

It was a sign of how involved they were in each other’s medical conditions that they both startled as Gordon suddenly surfaced beside the boat. Their fish brother flicked his wet hair out of his eyes forcibly enough to get both of his brothers with the spray.

In the distance, and still on the reef, both Andre and Cecil were staring at them.

“Hey, bros.” Gordon pretty much hovered in the water like the water seat his movements were so practised. “How goes?” In others words, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ When both brothers just stared at him, his eyes narrowed. “Scott you’ve dragged Two Broken Legs out onto the water by your mere presence. You look like shit, he worries. Go back to A Little Lightning and get cleaned up. Meet you on the reef when you are more respectable.” The Fish’s glare turned to Virgil. “And you. You are giving Andre conniptions. You fall off this seat, there is drowning in your future. I know you know this because you drummed it into my head multiple times.” His brother parroted Virgil’s own words from years ago. “‘Its use must be accompanied by adult supervision at all times’. While I know ‘adult’ in my case can be a grey area, we didn’t hire two suitably respectable nurses for you to fly out of their reach and go drown yourself. Now, get your ass back on that reef before I throw it onto my boat, take you straight back home, and force feed you Grandma’s cooking!”

Virgil stared at Gordon. Okay, perhaps he had acted a little irresponsibly. Of course, Scott took the opportunity for what it was and turned his own glare on Virgil for reinforcement.

Gordon’s glower upped a notch at the lack of movement. “Now!”

“Okay, Gordon. Fine. Whatever.” Virgil somewhat meekly let go of the life raft and turned back towards the reef, the seat humming quietly beneath him. Gordon growled further words at Scott and a moment later the life raft took off for A Little Lightning.

It wasn’t often Gordon put his foot down, but it was usually a good idea to agree with him when he did.

But then it wasn’t like he could fall out of the seat, being strapped in an all.

The whole tone of his own thoughts screamed pout and Virgil was forced to acknowledge that yes, Gordon was right.

The aquanaut swam alongside him, quite capable of keeping up with the seat’s easy pace.

By the time they reached the edge of the reef, Virgil had worked himself up to an apology. “I’m sorry, Gordon.”

His brother had stopped swimming a little way back and was now wading. Looking down and watching where he put his feet, Gordon sighed. “Don’t beat yourself up about it, Virg. Just keep yourself safe and in one piece, and we won’t have any problems.”

Virgil brought the seat to a halt and turned to his brother. “Gords, thank you. For all of this.”

Gordon stopped and stared, a small smile curving his lips. “Anytime, bro.” And of course, he had to take it that step further. He flung his arms wide. “My boat is your boat. Mi Casa, es su casa. Yours, mine, ours. Happy families and all that.”

Virgil stared at his goofball brother a moment. Then a flick at the controls, he darted over, grabbed two armfuls of Gordon and hugged him until he squawked.

“Oh, god, Virg, getorff!” Gordon struggled, but even in the water, he was no match for heavy lifting biceps. If Virgil closed his eyes and just clung for a moment, he wasn’t going to admit it or care. If it wasn’t for the fact that the seat was on the verge of flipping, he would have hung on longer.

It was Gordon stumbling and righting him before he took a swim in the drink that finally broke the clinging.

“God, Virg, don’t you dare get all teary on me or I’m telling John the combination to your personal refrigerator.”

Virgil grinned, if a little sloppily. “He already knows and it is not what you think.”

“What, it’s not Two’s launch date?”

“What?” Oh shit.

Gordon’s grin split his face in half and he cracked up laughing. Virgil was reduced to grabbing at him again in either an attempt to throttle him or give him the biggest noogie since he hit adulthood. That explained the mystery of the damned banana caramel pie from last week. He’d have to change it again.

His brother ducked out of reach basically by throwing himself underwater. Sure, the water seat was designed to follow, but damnit! “You owe me pie! Cecil made that for me, you brat!”

Gordon just kick-splashed his brother and laughed harder.

-o-o-o-

TBC


End file.
